6 Qualities That Make a Safety

Leader
SafeStart August 24, 2017

A strong safety culture depends on dedicated leaders. They are the

people who spearhead the fight for a safer work environment. A good
safety leader isn’t shy about bringing concerns to the attention of their
superiors or about encouraging others to do their part to keep
themselves and others safe.

Many safety leaders are safety professionals and hold titles like safety
manager or EHS specialist. But anyone can lead the way when it comes
to safety—shift supervisors, production managers and even frontline
workers can all be safety leaders. It’s the following six qualities and not
the job title that allows someone to lead the way when it comes to
health and safety.

They’re the first to bring attention to safety on the job

Safety leaders are natural stewards of safety. For example, they

properly and consistently wear their PPE, even if only passing through a
working area. They take on an active role in joining boards or
committees and lead by example among their workforce. Such actions
bring attention to the importance of safety and underline the fact that
rules are for everyone to follow, regardless of their position.

Leaders in managerial positions also work to ensure every employee is

properly trained and understands how to use their equipment safely.
They ensure that the health and safety program receives updates
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 regularly, particularly when it is outdated or lacking. They also strive to
hire competent professionals to deliver training and they participate in
every training initiative with enthusiasm.

They know safety is really about people

Every company has a collection of rules, regulations and procedures

that form the backbone of its safety program. Local, state and federal
governments also provide a range of health and safety laws that have
to be followed. So it’s understandable why there’s a lot of emphasis on
enforcing rules.

But the real goal is to prevent employees from getting hurt, which
means you can’t just give them a big, fat rulebook and expect them to
comply. You have to help them comply and develop safe work habits
beyond compliance with influence, education and coaching. Strong
safety leaders know that safety is about engaging and educating
people and that there’s no better way to achieve compliance than by
focusing on engaging workers and strengthening their personal safety
skills. Because even the most well-intentioned safety regulation is only
as effective as the people who adhere to it.

They care about safety 24/7

Safety leaders understand that caring for their workers’ personal health
and safety does not end when their shift finishes. They encourage
employees to use personal safety skills in all aspects of their lives, even
when out with their families or relaxing at home. They want workers to
remain watchful and aware at all times because they’re more likely to
get hurt outside of the workplace can affect the company and its
performance.
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 When at work, safety leaders stay alert and always look for ways to
improve worker safety. By sharing this attitude with their team, they
increase communication about health and safety and encourage others
to maintain the same vigilance.

They recognize that human factors contribute to incidents

Health and safety leaders understand that an employee’s state of mind

greatly influences whether or not they follow protocol in a given
moment. Rushing, fatigue, frustration or complacency are almost
always factors in workplace injuries. When safety leaders notice that a
worker is exhausted or complacent after long hours spent doing the
same task, they may encourage them to take a break, offer assistance
or they may assign them a task with less hazardous potential or to
disrupt complacency.

Safety leaders also understand how their direction can influence

workers’ likelihood of rushing and adjust their communication
accordingly. Instead of saying, “We need to get this done today,” they
might say, “Because we need to get this done today, I know you’re
going to be rushed, you will get tired and maybe even frustrated—so
let’s take breaks, stick to our procedures, avoid shortcuts and look out
for each other so we can all go home to our families safe and sound.”

They communicate

Effective implementation and adherence to safety practices require an

open dialog. A safety leader knows that simply rolling out a new
program is not going to work unless it’s first discussed with the workers
and aligned with their needs.

Safety leaders also use constant communication to strengthen existing

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 safety programs and ensure that safety is always top of mind among
the workforce. Having regular meetings with the workforce and
listening to their ideas and worries is a way for safety leaders to figure
out which aspects of safety should be addressed next. The meeting
could be as simple as delivering a toolbox talk before a new job or at
the beginning of the week. Such meetings will also prove to workers
that their safety is important.

They never stop learning

One of the hallmarks of any good leader is a drive for continuous

personal improvement. Not only do you need to know how to lead
effectively, but you also need to understand what to lead with. You can
be a great communicator but if you’re not conveying the most
important messages then you’re sending people in the wrong direction.
Fortunately for safety leaders, there are more ways than ever to brush
up on leadership skills and engage with new ideas in the safety
industry, including:

Getting a mentor. Ask a more experienced person in your

organization to show you how they got where they are today. This
can provide a new way of thinking and potentially a road map for
future career development. There may be external mentorship
opportunities as well.
Attending safety conferences. There are few better ways to learn
new techniques and discover innovative approaches to major
safety challenges than by going to a safety conference.
Watch webinars. Plenty of educational webinars are available to
safety folks. Most are paid access only, but there are also some
great free options too.
Read magazines. There’s a handful of high-quality publications
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 dedicated to the safety industry. Magazines like Occupational
Health and Safety, EHS Today and Safety + Health all put out
thought-provoking articles in online and print formats. There’s no
reason not to browse through a safety magazine or two each
month in order to stay current.
Go beyond the industry for more reading. Leadership isn’t just
important to safety—it’s a universal skill and therefore one of the
most common topics of business books. Extensive research and
clear insight that applies to a vast audience almost guarantees
applicability to your role. Check the reviews, pick a few and learn
from the experts.

If you’re working to create a strong culture of safety in the workplace,

you cannot accomplish it alone or without learning new things. But
becoming a strong and dependable leader will help you implement
safety programs faster and, eventually, you’ll be successful in getting
even the most complacent employees thinking about how they can
care for their well-being while on the job.

On-demand webinar

Using a Human Factors Framework for Safety and Operational

Excellence

It can be hard to see the connection between safety, productivity,

human factors and organizational systems. This webinar will
demonstrate how a human factors framework can impact all areas of an
organization, linking individual worker safety and organizational
systems and provide an outline that allows leadership to manage
safety-focused change.
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 Watch now
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